June 20, 2005

Readers sound off on Katie Couric and Diane Sawyer, finding a handyman, the plight of Mort Zuckerman, and more.

Taking Sides
I've known Katie Couric since I was 16 years old; she became a mentor and friend when I lost both my parents [“Duel at Sunrise,” by Meryl Gordon, June 6]. The notion of her being America’s Sweetheart is a media-manufactured myth, as is this rubbish about her morphing into a Manolo-clicking Cruella De Vil. Katie hasn’t changed since I first met her, when she was a local reporter in D.C. Of course I’ve seen Katie in less-than-pleasant moments; she’s seen me through mine. Katie is like the rest of us: complicated, full of contradictions, and only human. Give her a break.
—Carmela Ciuraru, Brooklyn

People have the wrong idea about why the Today show is losing viewers. The issue is Ann Curry. Whenever she’s on, I switch the channel to avoid her syrupy interviewing style.
—Nancy Harper, Coeur d’Alene, Idaho

I was a die-hard fan of Katie Couric’s until she did a piece discussing parents with children who suffer from mental illness. I lost respect for her when she seemed to classify homosexuality as such. That was the start of my morning affair with Good Morning America.
—Charles Fernandez, Manhattan

Why should I begrudge Katie? I am a 65-year-old Houston lady who will try to wear age-inappropriate and expensive clothes for lots more years. Your magazine is much easier on rich men.
—Margaret Hansen, Houston, Texas

The unsung heroes of GMA are the sharp sleuths in the research department who swiftly ferret out the pertinent facts, so the anchors seem sublimely “with it.” It’s that attention to detail and accuracy that helps Diane glide past NBC in the morning ratings.
—Laurence C. Day, St. Louis, Mo.

If I Had a Hammer
Stephen Milioti’s “No Job Too Puny” [June 6] is one of the best articles, ever. I laughed out loud at least eight times reading it, thinking of my stingy landlord who had me risking my life, shimmying across a fire escape, instead of calling his handyman to help me when I locked myself out of my apartment. It was a rainy Saturday, and the pope had died; indeed, a good handyman was hard to find.
—Nancy Capra, Brooklyn

Sexy Beast
Anyone who knew Andrea Dworkin would be surprised at the image of her that emerged from Ariel Levy’s “Prisoner of Sex” [June 6]. Dworkin didn’t write for sound bites. For anyone who’s wondering whether this “huge and hollering” hysteric really is the woman whose work and life were a transformative force for so many women and men, I recommend picking up a copy of Letters From a War Zone and finding out for oneself.
—Jane Manning, the Bronx

Cross My Heart, Hope to Die
I was moved by John Heilemann’s “The Choirboy” [May 30] but took issue with David K. So’s letter on not believing that child-molestation allegations are real because children don’t tell their parents [“Letters: Behind the Music,” June 13]: I might have agreed if my daughter hadn’t told me when she was 23 about her molestation by a close family member. I understand So’s point, but he is dead wrong.
—Ellen Morrison, Manhattan

Two Strikes
Jada Yuan writes in “Revenge of the Housewife” [“Intelligencer,” May 16] that Teri Hatcher gave me “quite a bit of shit” and that she asked me how my paper could “print an article that’s completely full of erroneous crap.” The item had me responding to her, “Well, but look at how good you look in the picture.” What was left out was critical: It wasn’t the Daily News that published the story linking her to Jim Macari, but rather the New York Post, which I pointed out to Teri, agreeing with her description of the latter paper. Three issues later, Kurt Andersen wrote in a column about Radar [“The Imperial City: A Very Familiar Magazine,” June 6] that I wanted to invest in a magazine my friends would read. The target audience of Radar is 25-to-39-year-olds. This would be my audience only if I measured my age in Celsius rather than Fahrenheit.
—Mort B. Zuckerman, Manhattan

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